Shubhanna’s story – Independent Review of Adult Social Care
"We need to begin by viewing social care as a right, and not as a service or industry."
“In Scotland we are fortunate to have some really great pieces of legislation such as the Carers Act and the Social Care (Self-Directed Support) Act. This has given unpaid carers in Scotland some key rights to access support, as well as greater choice and control over how care and support for themselves and the people that they are caring for should be met. However, many of these great policy intentions are very rarely implemented in the way that they were intended or in the ‘spirit of the Act’. There is also very little accountability in the current system and this inevitably results in unpaid carers and the people that they care for, feeling powerless about decisions made about their lives, and less likely to seek support for themselves or their families. It feels pointless introducing new legislation or policies, if we are going to continually fail to implement them.
The current social care system also prides itself on being person-centred. However, once again, we see very little evidence of this in practice. A person-centred approach would acknowledge that unpaid carers are not a homogenous group; we come from all ages, from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and with very different caring experiences. Each of us have our own needs, desires, and aspirations, and these cannot be addressed by a one-size-fits-all service.
When we think about what the future of social care should look like, we need to begin by viewing social care as a right, and not as a service or industry. Social care shouldn’t be limited to only those who can afford it or to those who are in crisis; it should be available to anyone who has support needs to be able to reach their full potential and to ultimately have the same life opportunities as anyone else.”
Read the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (this link will take you away from our website).
Read our news item on the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.
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